What’s the right way to pronounce the north Jacksonville high school?

What’s the right way to pronounce the north Jacksonville high school?

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s an age-old question in the River City: Is it pronounced “Ree-balt” or “Ree-beau?” It’s a prominent name in Jacksonville with a high school, a river as well as a monument. The News4JAX I-TEAM worked all day Thursday to get to the bottom of the mystery which is even up for debate…

Senate passes GOP bill overturning student loan cancellation, teeing it up for Biden veto

Senate passes GOP bill overturning student loan cancellation, teeing it up for Biden veto

WASHINGTON – A Republican measure overturning President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation plan passed the Senate on Thursday and now awaits an expected veto. The vote was 52-46, with support from Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana as well as Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent. The resolution was…

US companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUs

US companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUs

Natalie Coles will never forget receiving an unexpected phone call in 2020. On the line was Virginia-based Dominion Energy, offering to give money to Wilberforce University, the small historically Black college where she is in charge of fundraising. The company’s $500,000 donation went in part toward laptops and hot spots for students when the pandemic…

Move Over Hitler: Gavin Newsom Warns of Impending Purge by Parents Opposing Sexually-Inappropriate Material for Children

Move Over Hitler: Gavin Newsom Warns of Impending Purge by Parents Opposing Sexually-Inappropriate Material for Children

How many times have we seen this particular scenario? A group of whackos does something silly or egregious and folks on the opposite political team make it appear as if these few people represent the majority of the group. This is what occurred after the news broke about some individuals who vandalized an LGBTQ+ flag…

Jury selection to begin in trial of former deputy accused of failing to confront Parkland shooter

Jury selection to begin in trial of former deputy accused of failing to confront Parkland shooter

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Jury selection is scheduled to begin Wednesday in the trial of a former Florida sheriff’s deputy charged with failing to confront the shooter who killed 14 students and three staff members at a Parkland high school five years ago. The attorney for former Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson, prosecutors and Circuit…

Most in U.S. say don’t ban race in college admissions but that role should be small: AP-NORC poll

Most in U.S. say don’t ban race in college admissions but that role should be small: AP-NORC poll

WASHINGTON – As the Supreme Court decides the fate of affirmative action, most U.S. adults say the court should allow colleges to consider race as part of the admissions process, yet few believe students’ race should ultimately play a major role in decisions, according to a new poll. The May poll from The Associated Press-NORC…

Disney’s scrapped project may impact neighboring projects

Disney’s scrapped project may impact neighboring projects

() — Since Disney announced it was scrapping its nearly $1 billion corporate campus project in Orlando, Florida, nearby real estate projects are facing uncertain futures. In 2021, Disney purchased the Orlando community known as Lake Nona for around $46 million. The plans for a Disney campus on the 60-acre space were moving forward as…

Service dog receives diploma with owner at New Jersey college graduation

Service dog receives diploma with owner at New Jersey college graduation

Service dog receives diploma at graduation Service dog receives diploma alongside owner at college graduation 00:23 A service dog named Justin stole the show at graduation this week, when he received a diploma of his very own from the Seton Hall University president. The video of Justin graduating, which was originally posted by the university…

Student sues to wear Mexican and American flag sash at high school graduation

Student sues to wear Mexican and American flag sash at high school graduation

DENVER – A federal judge is weighing whether to let a Colorado high school student wear a Mexican and American flag sash at her graduation this weekend after the student sued the school district. The case is the latest dispute in the U.S. about what kind of cultural graduation attire is allowed at commencement ceremonies,…

Popular St. Johns County beach trashed during high school graduation party, residents say

Popular St. Johns County beach trashed during high school graduation party, residents say

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – One of the area’s most popular and beautiful beaches was trashed Thursday night, residents told News4JAX. Witnesses said hundreds of recent high school graduates held a party at Mickler’s Beach in Ponte Vedra Beach and left behind thousands of cans and bottles. The good news is volunteers quickly hopped in…

Iowa law limits gender identity instruction, removes books depicting sex acts from school libraries

Iowa law limits gender identity instruction, removes books depicting sex acts from school libraries

DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa teachers will be banned from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through grade six, and all books depicting sex acts will be removed from school libraries, under a bill Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Friday. The new law is among similar measures that have been approved…

Latest GOP 2024 hopeful DeSantis ‘blazing a trail’ on book bans in Republican-controlled states

Latest GOP 2024 hopeful DeSantis ‘blazing a trail’ on book bans in Republican-controlled states

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As he vies for the Republican presidential nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is touting a series of measures he has pushed that have led to an upswing in banned or restricted books — not just in Florida schools but in an increasing number of other conservative states. Florida last year became the…

Gov. DeSantis slams DEI, hits presidential campaign trail in Orlando

Gov. DeSantis slams DEI, hits presidential campaign trail in Orlando

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two days after announcing his 2024 bid for president, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Orlando on Friday touting his aggressive education agenda and criticizing Diversity Education and Inclusion (DEI) programs at a conference for parents of homeschooled students. Last week, DeSantis signed SB 266 which will prevent Florida colleges and universities…

Tom Hanks urges Harvard grads to defend the truth and resist indifference

Tom Hanks urges Harvard grads to defend the truth and resist indifference

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Tom Hanks told graduates of Harvard University on Thursday to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain. “For the truth to some is no longer empirical. It’s no longer based on data, nor common sense, nor even…

Scientists discover fossils of mammoths, sabretooth cats, rhinos that once roamed Florida

Scientists discover fossils of mammoths, sabretooth cats, rhinos that once roamed Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Fossil hunters in Florida are unearthing incredible finds, including prehistoric creatures such as rhinos, mammoths and sabretooth cats. Florida is one of the richest states when it comes to paleontology, and new discoveries are being made every day. University of Florida researchers recently discovered the incredibly intact remains of a giant gomphothere,…

Once a whaling port, New Bedford wants to light the world again, with wind

Once a whaling port, New Bedford wants to light the world again, with wind

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – New Bedford was once the city that lit the world, exporting vast quantities of whale oil for lamps in the early 1800s. Workers packed the docks, unloading casks of oil that had been extracted at sea from whale carcasses and brought in by a fleet of hundreds of whaling ships. Nearly…